Martin Schlag, JD, teaches undergraduate courses on business ethics, as well as courses on Catholic social thought in management. He is the director of the program in church management at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, in partnership with the University of St. Thomas and other U.S. and international universities.
Schlag’s research focuses on the tradition of Catholic social thought in political and economic questions. Specifically, he studies how the Christian faith over the centuries related to markets, trade and exchange, money and interest, and private property and social justice. The focus is on how to promote principled business leadership for the common good and to overcome poverty by including the poor into the market economy.
Schlag’s research is published in a series of books and chapters in edited books. Many of them are the fruit of conferences he has organized in various parts of the world. His experience as a consultant to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in Rome has given him a unique insight into social and human challenges worldwide.
Schlag is passionate about making his students think about the “big picture” and the deep meaning of truth, goodness and beauty in their work. Business is a noble vocation when it is part of an aspirational narrative made up of dreams, virtues and values that give business purpose and meaning. As a Catholic priest, he wishes to help students live a life worth living.